Perching Linnet
I loved seeing this male Linnet perching on the wind-burnt twigs in the garden of Einar this summer. He’s a beautiful sight …
Raven
Have you ever looked at a photograph and seen something in it which you didn’t see at the time you took it? …
Lovely Linnets in the garden
Each year at Einar, the Linnets build their nests and raise their chicks. It takes two weeks from laying to hatching and …
The most delicious taste for a creature of one mouthful
It’s always a delight to see a Wheatear. They’re quite incredible in their capacity to migrate. They can travel many thousands of …
Fledgling Rock Pipit
I’m climbing down the shallow cliffs to the sea to take photographs of Puffins in flight when I hear the usual pipping …
Puffins
Here’s a small collection of some of my previously unposted Puffin shots from this summer. Little sweetheart: Don’t look now, but I …
One dramatic evening
It’s a dramatic evening, already quite dark, yet this Fulmar is still flying. The sun is lighting up the high clouds with …
Sundogs and Skuas
There’s an Arctic Skua hunting Puffins for their fish. The weather is stunning, with interesting clouds making rainbow sundogs either side of …
Final Puffin evening
It’s time to head out to the Castle o’ Burrian to see the Puffins for a final time. The light is unexpectedly …
Juvenile Peregrine pursued by Arctic Skuas
I hear a loud Keeeeoww; a scream coming from above me. I manage to get its source in my viewfinder. It’s a …
King of the Castle o’ Burrian
It’s been great to watch the Puffins this year. This one was collecting last-minute bedding for its Puffling. The air must get …
Razorbill – with fish!
I’ve seen hundreds of Puffins with beak-fulls of fish recently, but it’s still a rarity to watch a Razorbill fly past fully-laden …
Kittisleeps
Fledgling Kittiwakes are littering the inlets and cliffs of Westray. They seem like they are playing, delighted with their wings, whirling around …
Chasing
Once species chasing another is the order of the day. Inter-species conflict is breaking out all over the island. We’ve had an …
Feeling the breeze on your belly
Why do I like birds? A large part of it is that they make you feel intensely, vibrantly, alive. Seeing individuals going …
How low can you go?
I’d like you to have a look at two of my photographs, taken a minute or two apart. They are of a …
Synchro Puffin
Synchro Puffin should be a new Animal Olympics sport. Or should that be Animalympics? Maybe not, that was a cartoon. These two …
Juvenile Puffin flypast
I’ve taken a few thousand photographs of Puffins flying past me in the past few days. Most of them have fish in …
Twinkle twinkle little Puffin
Evenings are special when the sun sets slowly over the North Sea. Puffins gather in huge floats in the bay and fly …
The Black Guillemots of Aikerness
I’ve had a few trips recently to the far north of Westray. It’s a great place to go as it’s too far …
Outbuilding Sparrows
There’s a male House Sparrow chirping insistently on a bare patch of ground. He’s fluffed up his belly and is enjoying the …
Leave only footprints
They say ‘Take only photographs, leave only footprints’. The Dunlin wading in the mud in the pools at the north end of …
Red-Throated Diver
I had a message that there was a Red-Throated Diver, Gavia stellata, in one of Westray’s many bays a few days ago. …
The Arctic Skua family
The Arctic Skuas on the Westside have a chick. It appears to be bigger than they are. It’s easy to see the …
Ground-nesting Sandy Laverock
There’s a Ringed Plover nest here, next to the footpath, near the coast: I can tell that because, as I walk past, …
Oystercatchers in buttercups and bill-tip clines
Eurasian Oystercatchers are loud in volume and loud in plumage. There are no words for skulking, camouflage or whisper in the Oystercatcher’s …
Gannetry
There’s a Northern Gannet colony at Noup Head on Westray. Whenever there’s a breeze in the right direction the Gannets appear at …
Fish!
I’ve spent several days recently photographing Atlantic Puffins with fish. It’s for a wonderful creative project I’m involved with. More about that …
A minute and counting
Common Guillemots are free-diving pursuit divers. Their diet is fish, and the fish which are alive in today’s ocean are the descendants …
We’re going on a Puffin hunt
Arctic Skuas are one of my favourite birds. They do, however, hunt Puffins to rob them of their fish. I’ve previously photographed …